Fri Jan 6, 2012 2:50pm GMT















By Graham Holliday




KIGALI Jan 6 (Reuters) - Just over a year since President Paul Kagame's landslide election win, observers have lauded economic progress in Rwanda but warned a lack of political freedom and media restrictions have dented any reforms.

Kagame, in his final term which expires in 2017, has denied he has cracked down on political opposition and said he is a freedom fighter.

"People say that there is no political space ... Actually, the only space lacking is the one that is occupied by these intruders. This nonsense from outside is occupying our space," Kagame said in a speech to parliament last month.

Below are some of the political risks facing Rwanda:

POLITICAL OPPONENTS

Former chief of staff Kayumba Nyamwasa and a former chief of military intelligence, Patrick Karegyeya, both sentenced to 20 years in jail in absentia by a military court, formed the Rwanda National Congress (RNC) opposition party in December 2010.

Rwanda says the two have formed a rebel group and are collaborating with the country's enemies.

The trial of opposition politician Victoire Ingabire, leader of the unregistered FDU-Inkingi party, which started in September 2011, is set to resume on January 16. She faces charges including denying the genocide, divisionism and working with a terrorist group.

Kagame's election win underlined his domination of the political arena. He has been praised for restoring stability after the 1994 genocide and engineering Rwanda's rapid economic recovery and vision of being a middle-income country by 2020.

But critics accuse Kagame of being authoritarian and of trampling on media and political freedoms.

Any debate over a third term for Kagame is said to be "undesirable" by key sources in the government, because it damages the reputation of the country in the eyes of critics who say the political class has no democratic credentials.

Susan Rice, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, has said although Rwanda's economy has grown, its political culture remains comparatively closed and media restricted.

What to watch:

-- Trial of Ingabire. The case remains a major test of the independence of Rwanda's judiciary. Her British lawyer claimed the laws under which she is being tried were not enacted at the time the crimes were alleged to have been committed, or they lie outside the jurisdiction of the court.

Ingabire denies funding FDLR Hutu rebels and says her detention is politically motivated.


-- Theogene Rudasingwa, a former chief of staff to Kagame, said on Facebook on Oct. 1 that Kagame "was personally responsible" for the shooting down of the plane carrying President Juvenal Habyarimana in 1994, which sparked the start of the genocide. Rudasingwa was formerly ambassador to the U.S. and a founding member of the RNC.
-- Trial of Laurent Nkunda. The former leader of the National Congress for the Defence of the People (CNDP), a rebel force that repeatedly routed Democratic Republic of Congo's army, has been under house arrest in Rwanda since January 2009.

Rwandan law forbids the extradition of people to states such as Congo that have the death penalty. Nkunda's trial has been postponed four times since the case was passed to the military courts in April 2010.

-- The media. A bill to amend the 2009 media law, emphasizing self-regulation and creation of an independent monitor, is currently being debated by the political and gender committee in parliament.

A draft law on access to information is also expected to be enacted in the near future. It will be the first of its kind in Rwanda.

Some observers see the draft media law as a positive move, but remain concerned the changes will remain on paper alone due to limited media outlets. Two newspapers banned in 2010 for six months have failed to resume publication. The editors of Umuseso and Umuvugizi now reside in exile and publish online.

POLITICAL RIFTS, CONGO TENSIONS

Kagame's war on graft, which has led to Rwanda being ranked as the least corrupt nation in east Africa, has seen his former political associates arrested on graft allegations.

Rwandan officials are required to declare their wealth by June 30 every year, but 361 government officials did not meet the deadline in 2011. Diplomats say while the government wants to clean up its act to attract more direct foreign investment, its plans are being hampered by some of its own members.

[Since 1994, the world witnesses the horrifying reality : the Tutsi minority (14%) ethnic domination, the Tutsi minority ethnic rule, tyranny and corruption in Rwanda. The current government has been characterized by the total impunity of RPF criminals, the Tutsi economic monopoly, the Tutsi militaristic domination with an iron fist, and the brutal suppression of the rights of the majority of the Rwandan people (85% are Hutus), mass-arrests and mass-murder by the RPF criminal organization.
So long as justice and accountability for RPF past and current crimes are ignored and delayed, Peace and Stability will remain illusive and impossible in Rwanda=>ASIF]

Hutus are facing ethnic discrimination in Education, in business and in employment.
We read every single day in the Convention on the prevention and punishment of genocide those notorious words:



Why Canada remains greatly indebted to the General Kagame and RPF government?

1. The Empirical Record on Habyarimana's Death
2. ICTR/Rudasingwa – Kagame ex-aide wants to reveal all details about downing of Habyarimana’s plane by RPF
3. "I HAVE BEEN THROUGH HELL". PART 3 - Interview de JC Nizeyimana (DH RWANDA)
4. Assassinations in Rwanda
5.  Let's not whitewash Dallaire's war crimes and crimes against Humanity as they do in Canada: Lieutenant-General The Honorable Roméo A. Dallaire

The Dutch born General Protected by his country Canada 1. UN advisory committee on genocide prevention 2. Qualified as suffering of Traumatic stress disorder 3. founder of the Child Soldiers Initiative 4. Senatorial designation to the rest of his life: appointed on the advice of Martin (Lib.)

=> Booming Business with a criminal regime in Kigali.
Theogene Rudasingwa's Revelations On Downing Of ...
Netherlands's freedom of speech : Internet is 100% controled not by Google: For  for which intation? Romeo Dallaire has bon in Denekamp in the Netherlands in June 25, 1946. Surprised? Guess not. Follow Netherlands strict collaboration with General Paul Kagame in Rwanda.

General Romeo Dallire had to lieve Rwanda after being sure the Genocide has taken place and thus RPF would seize power in Kigali according to the plan. Millions of innocent people were brutally murdered in Rwanda. He has never been mentioned even thaugh he made  investigations of the assassinated children, wives and all of those who perished because of him without bringing the presumed RPF death squads RPF leaders to justice.

"Is it true that "We" respect human rights in our operations, not just because doing so fosters a stable business environment, but more importantly, because it is the right and responsible thing to do ! ! !"
They don't care. However:

African SurViVors International (AS International) is an international nonpartisan charity organization devoted to defending human rights. It’s an organization working to promote democracy and national reconciliation, inside countries of the African Great lakes Region.

AS International centers its work on the twin concepts of freedom of self-determination and freedom from tyranny. These ideals include the belief that all human beings have the rights to speak freely, to associate with those of like mind, and to leave and enter their countries. Individuals in a free society must be accorded equal treatment and due process under law, and must have the opportunity to participate in the governments of their countries;
AS International’s ideals likewise find expression in the conviction that all human beings have the right to be free from arbitrary detainment or exile and from interference and coercion in matters of conscience. ASI does not support nor condone violence.

The Truth can be buried and stomped into the ground where none can see, yet eventually it will, like a seed, break through the surface once again far more potent than ever, and Nothing can stop it. Truth can be suppressed for a "time", yet It cannot be destroyed. ==> Wolverine

As we said before, you can't talk about Christmas without mentioning Jesus. In the same context, you cannot talk about human rights abuses in Rwanda, congo, war crimes in Congo, crimes against Humanity in Congo and genocide without mentioning General Paul Kagame, the mastermind of the Rwandan and Congolises Genocides, a criminal STILL AT LARGE.
Concerning the DRC, an independent inquiry was necessay than ever to determine those who are involved in the conflict and who are committing all kind of inimaginable crimes on the Congolese soil: Multinational mining companies, American and Briths individuals, Rwandan government (RDF),RCD,CNDP,FARDC, MONUC, and other RPF newly created proxy armies. Concerning Rwanda, a sustained dialogue among Rwandans is more than necessary to end the regional conflict. The dialogue should be helping conflictual parties and the civil societies to map and name problems and relationships. A dialogue sustained over time can produce such a transforming political process.
 
Our motto for 2012: Freedom for all prisoners of conscience: Ms Ingabire Victoire, Me Ntaganda Bernard, Mushayidi Deogratias and many others plus journalists. All of them are those who were  arrested by the dictator Rwandan Paul Kagame, detained and imprisoned for acts in furtherance of their political beliefs. As a consequence, they are arbitrarily denied their liberty and due process of law.

They are all victims of political repression and state terrorism which are the General Kagame and RPF government's reaction to dissent, criticism, political activism and defense of human rights.


Ms Ingabire Victoire Umuhoza, The Would-Be President of Rwanda The Rwandan Rosa Parks  Actually sitting in Kagame's prison




This is the time of year when you can take stock of the blessings you have, and plan for new success in the New Year. One of the blessings we have here at ASIF are our members, partners, and volunteers, because it simply would not happen without all of you. Human rights are the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world. When human rights are not respected, tension and even armed conflict often follow. That what we actually live in the Congo, across Rwanda, Somalia and Darfur in Sudan.

The New Year 2012 provides exciting opportunities to all of us, but our success depends on all of us working together toward our goals of Human Rights education, conflict resolution, culture of good governance, and democratic values, Justice and reconciliation. The UN Charter makes this clear by affirming its “faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women and nations large and small.”

The World Programme for Human Rights Education points out that “Human rights education encompasses:

Human rights is not a subject that can be studied at a distance. All people at all levels in Africa should not just learn about the Universal Declaration, about racial injustice, discrimination, war crimes and genocide or about poverty in developing countries without also being challenged to think about what it all means for them personally. As human rights educator and advocate, African SurVivors International staff members must ask the involved people, students and ourselves, “How does this all relate to the way we live our lives?” The answers to this question will tell us much about how effectively we have taught our students and different community members in different workshops.

(a) Knowledge and skills — learning about human rights and mechanisms for their protection, as well as acquiring skills to apply them in daily life;
(b) Values, attitudes and behaviour — developing values and reinforcing attitudes and behavior, which uphold human rights; 

Using information and communication technologies (ICTs) to promote human rights education.

Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.”
Plan an Internet event or campaign

Using the Internet to advertise and even to host an event is a growing trend in communication and in outreach.
Thank you for being a friend, member, partner and supporter, and best wishes from our family to yours!


African SurViVors International (AS International) is an international nonpartisan charity organization devoted to defending human rights. It’s an organization working to promote democracy and national reconciliation, inside countries of the African Great lakes Region.


AS International centers its work on the twin concepts of freedom of self-determination and freedom from tyranny. These ideals include the belief that all human beings have the rights to speak freely, to associate with those of like mind, and to leave and enter their countries. Individuals in a free society must be accorded equal treatment and due process under law, and must have the opportunity to participate in the governments of their countries;

AS International’s ideals likewise find expression in the conviction that all human beings have the right to be free from arbitrary detainment or exile and from interference and coercion in matters of conscience. ASI does not support nor condone violence.

The Truth can be buried and stomped into the ground where none can see, yet eventually it will, like a seed, break through the surface once again far more potent than ever, and Nothing can stop it. Truth can be suppressed for a "time", yet It cannot be destroyed. ==> Wolverine

Eastern Congolese Opposition Join Forces to Protest Election










Subject: MARIYA NEDELCHEVA (UE, MISSION D'OBSERVATION EN RDC) : INTERVIEW.

Version 01 : MARIYA NEDELCHEVA- CHEF DE LA MISSION D’OBSERVATION DE L’EU EN RDC- PARLE DES RESULTATS DE L’ELECTION PRESIDENTIELLE.


African SurViVors International (AS International) is an international nonpartisan charity organization devoted to defending human rights. It’s an organization working to promote democracy and national reconciliation, inside countries of the African Great lakes Region.


AS International centers its work on the twin concepts of freedom of self-determination and freedom from tyranny. These ideals include the belief that all human beings have the rights to speak freely, to associate with those of like mind, and to leave and enter their countries. Individuals in a free society must be accorded equal treatment and due process under law, and must have the opportunity to participate in the governments of their countries;

AS International’s ideals likewise find expression in the conviction that all human beings have the right to be free from arbitrary detainment or exile and from interference and coercion in matters of conscience. ASI does not support nor condone violence.



The Truth can be buried and stomped into the ground where none can see, yet eventually it will, like a seed, break through the surface once again far more potent than ever, and Nothing can stop it. Truth can be suppressed for a "time", yet It cannot be destroyed. ==> Wolverine

So long as justice and accountability for RPF past and current crimes are ignored and delayed, Peace and Stability will remain illusive and impossible in Rwanda=>ASIF]

  
Deep insight: Rwanda genocide: Bagosora's life sentence reduced

Theoneste Bagosora was a senior figure in Rwanda's ministry of defence at the time of the massacres.
General Paul Kagame, the probably mastermind of the Rwandan Genocide remains at large. To help Rwandans to reconcile, Paul Kagame should be apprehended and brought to JUSTICE. To understand the issue, we call on our readers to listen tothe French Professor Lugan here below:

Génocide rwandais : renversement de perspective
Geüpload door realpolitiktv. - De allerlaatste nieuwscontent.
[In 1994 around 800,000 people - mostly from the Tutsi ethnic group - were killed in just 100 days.=> This is the  refrain (from Vulgar Latin refringere, "to repeat", and later from Old French refraindre)  repeated in Kagame's music or in verse; the "chorus" of RPF followers'song to hide the Truth about millions of Hutus and Tutsis mass-slaughtered by Paul Kagame. RPF and Kagame pro-media will always repeat it as to insist on Kagame's scenario about the 1994 tragic events].
The UN-backed International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) convicted Bagosora of genocide and crimes against humanity three years ago.
He was arrested 15 years ago in Cameroon and his trial at the Rwanda tribunal in the Tanzanian city of Arusha began in 2002.
Appeal judges in Arusha cleared him of some of the charges he faced, including ordering killings at roadblocks in the capital, Kigali.

But his convictions for genocide and crimes against humanity were upheld.

Co-accused to be freed
The BBC's East Africa correspondent Will Ross says he decision has angered some Rwandans who are are questioning why a man who played such a key role in the genocide would have his sentence reduced.


Around 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed in Rwanda in 1994 They point to the fact that many others who were lowing ranking genocide convicts were given life sentences.

In 1994, Bagosora was chief of staff in the ministry of defence and effectively in charge of the soldiers who took part in the massacres.

The killings began after the plane carrying Rwanda's then-President Juvenal Habyarimana was shot down on 6 April 1994, killing everyone on board.

The appeals court found that he knew the crimes were going to be committed and did nothing to stop them, the AFP news agency reports.
At his trial, Bagosora, who is a Hutu, maintained he was a victim of propaganda by Rwanda's current Tutsi-dominated government.
Bagosora is 70 years old. With time already served, his 35-year sentence will see him imprisoned until he is 89.
One of the men convicted alongside Bagosora, Anatole Nsengiyumva, has had his sentence reduced on appeal to 15 years, and will be released because of time served, says AFP.
African SurViVors International (AS International) is an international nonpartisan charity organization devoted to defending human rights. It’s an organization working to promote democracy and national reconciliation, inside countries of the African Great lakes Region.


AS International centers its work on the twin concepts of freedom of self-determination and freedom from tyranny. These ideals include the belief that all human beings have the rights to speak freely, to associate with those of like mind, and to leave and enter their countries. Individuals in a free society must be accorded equal treatment and due process under law, and must have the opportunity to participate in the governments of their countries;

AS International’s ideals likewise find expression in the conviction that all human beings have the right to be free from arbitrary detainment or exile and from interference and coercion in matters of conscience. ASI does not support nor condone violence.

CirqueMinime/Paris

1. Where will Kagame's Rhetoric Take Rwanda?
2. Congolese Diaspora Disappointed in International Community 
   
   

Beyond the ICC Decision to Release [FDLR[1] Secretary] Callixte Mbarushima


[adapted by CM/P from the original French op/ed by Eugene Shimamungu for the Source de Nile Newletter 37]


At the end of this week, while Paul Kagame was celebrating his high-mass, the “Umushyikirano,” a sort of phony Rwandan national chat, which is really just a Kagame stand-up cheered on by his suck-ups, themselves too scared to ask any real questions, the ground seemed to open up under the dictator’s feet.


In the same week, the ICTR freed Anatole Nsengiyumva of the Military I trial, and agreed to a reduction in the sentence of [Col. Théoneste]Bagosora, who is no longer charged with intent [or planning] to commit genocide. And at the same time, more good news, though bad news, no doubt, for Paul Kagame, came out of the ICC: Chamber I refused to uphold the charges against [FDLR Secretary] Callixte Mbarushimana and ordered his release. Shame on Prosecutor Moreno Ocampo, and intense rectal pain for Paul Kagame!


It was Kagame, himself, who had sensed the impending storm! During the Umushyikirano, after having upbraided the loveliest [sic] of “foreigners” (that being the American [UN Ambassador] Susan Rice) who had recently given him lessons on democracy, Kagame complained about the turn of events at the ICTR, that the Bagosora trial had lasted too long (17 years by his count) to have born such pathetic results. Here we must understand “the results that did not satisfy him.”

Because since the notion of “the brains of the genocide” fizzled out, the Tribunal has not been able to find a “planner for the genocide” and has had to make do with “taking judicial notice” of this genocide by now so well-known to the public, a genocide stitched out of whole propaganda, which has not been proven by the evidence beyond any reasonable doubt, but instead sanctified by the media. This has turned out to be a minimization unto a negation by this same Tribunal of the acts of genocide committed in the period between April and July 1994. The notion of “the brains of the genocide,” supported by the expert ‘blancs menteurs’[2] of every stripe, who have made a lot of hay from, but are having a lot of trouble being clear about this judgment, has gone a long way to make people forget that Bagosora was, by law, innocent until proven guilty. Kagame’s great fear is that justice is liable to find him to be the real planner of the genocide and turn on him to pay his unimaginable debt to bleeding Humanity.


And here’s where the ICC issued a Press Release on 16 December 2011, according to which the charges against Mbarushimana were not upheld and the decision was taken to release him: the Court was moved to this decision especially by the fact that “the evidence bearing on substantial motives was insufficient to make the Court believe that Callixte Mbarushimana could be held criminally responsible” for the crimes against Humanity charged against him by the Prosecution.And the cherry on top: “the Court concluded that there was insufficient evidence of substantive motives to believe that crimes against Humanity had been committed by the soldiers of the FDLR”!All of this is obviously subject to appeal by the Prosecution or by the Defense.

If this decision is upheld, what effect will it have on trials in progress?

The flagship trial is obviously that of Victoire Ingabire. Charged with aiding and abetting terrorism (as an accomplice to the FDLR) and entertaining genocide ideology, there is no hope that the Rwandan judges in Kagame’s clutches will take notice of the ICC decision. It is also unsure whether the charges in this indictment, which could be a double-edged sword, even if Kagame’s power joins in with the former FDLR cadres, like the famous General Rwarakabije, Ingabire’s jailor (Director of Prisons in Rwanda) in her current lock-up, prison “1930,” to diminish if not eliminate the rebellion! It is in this way, too, that power has corrupted all the former or false FDLR to testify against Victoire Ingabire. In the end, this collaboration between the power in Kigali and the FDLR is a backdoor corroboration of the ICC decision. One could even claim that the confusion created by the power in Kigali on this subject will end up decriminalizing the FDLR.
Another trial that the whole world has forgotten is pending in Germany against Ignace Murwanashyaka, president of the FDLR, and his collaborator, Straton Musoni. Their lawyers have been able to use this ICC decision with success, and their clients have a good chance of being released in the next few days. Even if you consider that the responsibilities of the President, who knows the terrain very well, are not the same as those of his Secretary Mbarushimana, who has never set foot on it.


Eugene Shimamungu


©www.editions-sources-du-nil

African SurViVors International (AS International) is an international nonpartisan charity organization devoted to defending human rights. It’s an organization working to promote democracy and national reconciliation, inside countries of the African Great lakes Region.


AS International centers its work on the twin concepts of freedom of self-determination and freedom from tyranny. These ideals include the belief that all human beings have the rights to speak freely, to associate with those of like mind, and to leave and enter their countries. Individuals in a free society must be accorded equal treatment and due process under law, and must have the opportunity to participate in the governments of their countries;

AS International’s ideals likewise find expression in the conviction that all human beings have the right to be free from arbitrary detainment or exile and from interference and coercion in matters of conscience. ASI does not support nor condone violence.


The Truth can be buried and stomped into the ground where none can see, yet eventually it will, like a seed, break through the surface once again far more potent than ever, and Nothing can stop it. Truth can be suppressed for a "time", yet It cannot be destroyed. ==> Wolverine

So long as justice and accountability for RPF past and current crimes are ignored and delayed, Peace and Stability will remain illusive and impossible in Rwanda=>ASIF]






Depuis, les « gendarmes des Américains en Afrique » (et ailleurs) sont présentés comme des victimes et toutes les stratégies de « com » imaginables y participent.

Dans la foulée, bien entendu, on se plaît à présenter, tout « Hutu », ou membre ou ex membre des FAR (Armée légitime du Rwanda ou Front armé rwandais), FDLR (Front Démocratique de Libération du Rwanda), comme « génocidaire », ce qui est, re-bien entendu, une ineptie notoire (visant à faire taire et à éliminer, ici et là-bas).
Cette majorité Hutu s’est vue, et se voit encore, dépouillée de tout droit, même de défense correcte, de même que ceux qui ont conscience de l’énorme manipulation à laquelle nous assistons pour pouvoir régner, sur l’Afrique, ses terres, ses soleils….

Pour ce faire, on n’hésite pas à traiter, taxer, insulter, de « négationniste », ici et là, qui lève le petit doigt.
Mais, dites-nous, qui sont les vrais « négationnistes » ?
Aux vrais "Négationnistes"
En Belgique, comme au Rwanda, on fourbit les armes idéologiques propagées par les mots et des lois contre les décrétés accusés « négationnistes ».
Au nom du mot "négationnisme", de son utilisation, et de la loi de 1995 mise au point suite à l'apparition de Faurisson qui niait l'existence des chambres à gaz, voici, ou revoici, notre « lettre aux vrais négationnistes ».
Nous rappelons qu’il ne s’agit pas de parler de la Shoah qu’ont subie les Juifs mais bien de l’amalgame que certains veulent imprimer dans les esprits en Belgique et ailleurs au sujet du Rwanda,

cela afin de cacher les vrais enjeux sur toute l'Afrique et la majorité des crimes dont ils sont complices, depuis 1990, au moins.


Ceux qui empêchent les autres de pleurer leurs morts.
Ceux qui nient la mort des autres en ne parlant que de la leur ou de celles de leur clan, qui empêchent les autres d’en parler en les effrayant, en effrayant les chercheurs ou les diseurs de vérités.

Aux vrais négationnistes, ceux qui, sans vergogne, nient, étouffent la parole et les deuils, le chagrin de ceux qui savent, ceux qui les relayent et empêchent, interdisent, nient leur existence ou la salissent,
ceux qui veulent répandre à tous cris le mensonge dans les nouvelles générations ignorantes par le biais de l’enseignement et de l’éducation permanente, de la culture et de la politique, et ce, avec les deniers publics, les nôtres, ceux qui traînent les autres devant des tribunaux qu’ils n’ont nullement mérités,
ceux qui soutiennent le bien fondé d’une justice inique et improvisée, transformant les lieux publics en tribunaux expéditifs, ceux qui corrompent, qui payent de faux témoins, qui avilissent l’intégrité et toute parole humaine, toute conscience restante, ceux, de nos élus, de noo élites, universitaires ou pas, qui osent les soutenir, et se présentent, souriant(e)s, faussement innocent(e)s, sur des écrans et à la tête de parterres de conférences, abuseurs(se)s patentés, indignes d’éducation populaire ou pas, ceux qui cherchent travestir l’histoire, ceux qui utilisent la victimisation au bénéfice matériel de leur propre descendance ou communauté, afin, peut-être, de rendre plus exceptionnelle leur histoire, ceux qui par tous les biais s’ingénient à empêcher la libre expression, quand il s’agit de celle des autres, détournant notamment les canaux médiatiques à leur avantage ;  cela,  au nom, à présent, d’une prétendue « résilience » personnelle, clanique ou communautaire, revendiquée.
Ils ne sont pas conscients, sans doute…. qu'à long terme, ils auront tort....

A ceux-là, négationnistes de la vérité, nous disons :

nous soutenons ceux qui en ont besoin et qui veulent qu’on sache ce qui s’est passé et ce qui se passe.

Annik Ferauge

- Avril 2010, repris en 2011
En complément, veuillez trouver ici, résumé d’un livre récemment paru.
Carnages, Les guerres secrètes des grandes puissances en Afrique
Pierre Péan – Fayard, novembre 2010

Résumé par Mr Philpot

Pierre Péan a mis les pieds en Afrique pour la première fois en 1962, dans la foulée des libérations, mais aussi dans la foulée d’une nouvelle sorte de domination qu’on a fini par qualifier de néo-colonialisme, dont le lâche assassinat en 1961 de Patrice Lumumba, libérateur du Congo, est devenu le symbole.
Au moins douze des trente livres que Pierre Péan a publiés depuis ce temps, portent sur l’Afrique et particulièrement sur la politique française en Afrique mais aussi, à un moindre degré, sur celle des autres pays-grandes puissances.

Nombreux sont ceux qui le placent parmi les plus grands journalistes d’enquête au monde. Il réunit toutes les qualités de l’écrivain limpide et incisif à celles du journaliste rigoureux et sans complaisance, dont les sources, principalement documentaires, sont toujours fiables, et dont le carnet d’adresses n’a pas d’égal.
C’est grâce à ce parcours incomparable qu’il a pu s’attaquer à un sujet aussi complexe et périlleux, mais ô combien important, que celui des guerres secrètes que les grandes puissances ont menées en Afrique depuis la fin de la Seconde guerre mondiale.

Carnages, Les guerres secrètes des grandes puissances en Afrique (Fayard, 2010) n’est pas seulement un tour de force par l’ampleur de la matière traitée mais aussi par les révélations sur des événements que l’on pense, souvent à tort, connaître.

Parmi celles-ci, les plus importantes concernent, à notre avis, le rôle d’Israël dans les guerres et les joutes de pouvoir qui ont laissé tant de morts sur le continent.

À titre d’exemple, peu après que le Général de Gaulle a commencé à parler en 1959 de l’autodétermination de l’Algérie, David Ben Gourion, premier ministre d’Israël, a essayé de convaincre de Gaulle, ainsi que tous les fonctionnaires français d’adopter sa solution : la partition de l’Algérie pour faire en sorte qu’il y ait une population française permanente le long de la Méditerranée qui serait alimentée par l’émigration de la France vers l’Algérie d’un million de Français.

Lors de sa deuxième tentative de convaincre de Gaulle, ce dernier lui a répondu : « Ma foi, vous essayez de créer un nouvel Israël en Algérie! » Il faut ajouter qu’Israël voulait être récompensé pour des attentats commis par le Mossad contre des dirigeants du FLN algérien pour le compte de la France.

Cette recherche d’une « profondeur stratégique » de la part de l’État hébreu expliquerait beaucoup son implication dans la politique et les guerres africaines, du Caire au Cap et de Djibouti à Dakar.

C’est sous cet angle qu’il faut regarder les bouleversements au Soudan, le plus grand pays de l’Afrique. Péan cite une conférence d’Avi Dichter, ministre israélien de la Sécurité intérieure, prononcée en Hébreu à l’Institut de sécurité, en septembre 2008.

Traitant du Soudan et de sa région le Darfour, il dit : « Pourquoi cette ingérence? Parce qu’il y a un lien avec la question palestinienne (…) Il est important que le Soudan n’arrive pas à se stabiliser durablement. Important qu’Israël ait maintenu le conflit au Sud-Soudan pendant trois décennies, et qu’il le maintienne maintenant dans l’ouest du Soudan [Darfour]. (…) Il faut jouer sur les conflits ethniques et confessionnels, poursuit Dichter, et prolonger ainsi la profondeur stratégique d’Israël. C’est ce qu’a résumé Golda Meir quand elle s’est saisie du dossier en 1967. : ‘Il faut affaiblir les pays arabes dans leurs potentialités’ ». Pour y arriver le patron de la Sécurité intérieure, Dichter, propose divers moyens alternés, « tantôt la force, tantôt la diplomatie, tantôt les moyens de la guerre secrète. »

Mais Pierre Péan démontre aussi avec brio que les chefs d’orchestre des guerres secrètes en Afrique depuis plus de 20 ans se trouvent, non pas à Paris, ni à Londres, ni à Jérusalem, malgré leurs intérêts et interventions respectifs, mais à Washington.

Son portrait de Roger Winter, directeur depuis 1980 de la nébuleuse ONG US Commitee For Refugees et homme à tout faire de Washington en Afrique, donne froid dans le dos. Mais surtout il aide à comprendre les terribles guerres, toujours en cours, qui ont mis l’Afrique centrale à sac, de Kampala, en Ouganda, à Kinshasa, au Congo.

Les lecteurs québécois seront très intéressés par les détails fournis sur le rôle du Canada dans ces guerres meurtrières. Comment Jean Chrétien, et son neveu Raymond Chrétien, alors ambassadeur du Canada aux États-Unis ainsi que le général Maurice Baril, ont sacrifié des millions de réfugiés rwandais et de congolais pour satisfaire les visées stratégiques de Washington au Congo.

Bref, ils ont manigancé avec l’administration Clinton pour qu’aucune force d’interposition n’intervienne au Congo (l’ex-Zaïre) en novembre 1996, laissant ainsi la voie libre au Rwanda, soutenu par Washington et Londres, pour envahir ce pays et tuer des centaines de milliers de Rwandais, surtout des femmes en enfants en fuite, ce qui a abouti à la prise du pouvoir à Kinshasa.

Et dans cette guerre, Israël n’est jamais loin. Plusieurs avaient remarqué que le président rwandais Paul Kagamé a visité Israël à l’automne 1996 pour rencontrer le premier ministre Netanyahou peu avant l’invasion de l’ex-Zaïre en novembre 1996.

Pierre Péan explique pourquoi. En fait, Kagamé s’était rendu auparavant à Washington pour préparer l’invasion. Là on lui a conseillé d’aller en Israël pour s’assurer de la neutralité du Mossad (services secrets israéliens) qui s’occupait de la sécurité du président Mobutu de Zaïre.

Les lecteurs québécois seront également intéressés d’apprendre de qui relevait vraiment celui qu’on a érigé en héros international, Roméo Dallaire, au Rwanda au printemps de 1994.

Selon Pierre Péan, « les ‘grandes oreilles’ françaises, basées sur l’île de la Réunion , dans l’océan indien, (lire les services secrets), détectent que le général Dallaire, patron des Casques bleus, envoie ses ordres d’opération, avec demande de directives, non pas à ses supérieurs de l’ONU, à New York, mais au lieutenant Daniel Schroeder, patron américain de l’opération prétendument humanitaire baptisée Support Hope, avec copie au lieutenant-colonel, Jim Anderson, qui est à l’ambassade américaine récemment rouverte à Kigali. Dans les faits, poursuit Péan, Dallaire est passé sous commandement américain, Washington considérant Boutros Boutros-Ghali, le secrétaire général de l’ONU, comme inféodé à la France. »

Carnages, Les guerres secrètes des grandes puissance en Afrique est un livre passionnant, bien écrit et essentiel pour comprendre les 50 dernières années en Afrique mais aussi dans les grandes capitales de l’Europe et de l’Amérique.

African SurViVors International (AS International) is an international nonpartisan charity organization devoted to defending human rights. It’s an organization working to promote democracy and national reconciliation, inside countries of the African Great lakes Region.
AS International centers its work on the twin concepts of freedom of self-determination and freedom from tyranny. These ideals include the belief that all human beings have the rights to speak freely, to associate with those of like mind, and to leave and enter their countries. Individuals in a free society must be accorded equal treatment and due process under law, and must have the opportunity to participate in the governments of their countries;

AS International’s ideals likewise find expression in the conviction that all human beings have the right to be free from arbitrary detainment or exile and from interference and coercion in matters of conscience. ASI does not support nor condone violence.

Une opinion de Arnaud ZAJTMAN, Réalisateur de documentaires sur le Congo et ancien correspondant permanent au Congo pour la BBC et la RTBF (de 2000 à 2010).


Les mots manquent pour qualifier la gravité de la situation qui prévaut actuellement au Congo. La commission électorale congolaise s’apprête à annoncer la victoire du président sortant Joseph Kabila sur la base de résultats frauduleux rejetés par la majorité des Congolais, jetant ainsi les bases du conflit le plus meurtrier qui puisse advenir, celui qui oppose un appareil d’Etat à sa population.

L’Occident, qui depuis dix ans dépense plus d’un million de dollars par jour pour la restauration de la paix et de l’Etat de droit au Congo, via la mission de maintien de la paix des Nations unies, s’apprête à valider ces résultats, signant ainsi l’échec de sa propre politique.

Les tendances déjà publiées par la commission électorale qui donnent la victoire à Kabila ne résistent pas à l’analyse. Par exemple, au Katanga, censé être le fief traditionnel de Kabila, la CENI donne près de 90 % des voix à Kabila alors que le jour du scrutin, les chiffres qui parvenaient des bureaux de vote disséminés dans les grandes villes de cette province donnaient seulement une légère avance de Kabila sur son rival Etienne Tshisekedi. Au Kivu, les chiffres donnent une écrasante majorité à Kabila alors que le jour du scrutin, c’est l’opposant Kamerhe qui y était largement en tête.
Dans les provinces de l’ouest et du centre qui ont voté massivement pour Tshisekedi, les chiffres sont incomplets ou peu crédibles. La fraude est grossière et tous les observateurs de la vie politique congolaise le constatent.

En réalité, les journalistes qui ont travaillé sérieusement sur ces élections et ont fait la tournée des bureaux de vote ont noté des tendances lourdes qui augurent de la victoire de Tshisekedi.

La population congolaise non plus n’est pas dupe. Lors des élections de 2006, la capitale Kinshasa n’avait pas plebiscité Kabila. Cependant les Kinois avaient accepté les résultats, comprenant que Kabila avait remporté la majorité des suffrages ailleurs dans le pays. Ils exprimaient ainsi avec sagesse l’espoir que ces élections marquaient le début d’un développement économique au Congo.

Aujourd’hui, les choses sont totalement différentes. Les électeurs congolais savent que Kabila n’a pas remporté l’élection. De plus, les révolutions arabes et, plus au sud du Sahara, le conflit en Côte-d’Ivoire avec l’invalidation par la communauté internationale des résultats frauduleux prononcés par la Cour suprême ivoirienne ont renforcé la conviction des Congolais dans leur lutte pour un Etat de droit.

Par ailleurs, Kabila, qui avait promis lors de son élection "la fin de la récréation", a en réalité bradé les ressources minières du Congo, mettant les entreprises d’Etat, notamment la MIBA, qui possède les immenses mines de diamant au Kasai, et la Gécamines, qui possède les gisements du Katanga, à genoux, créant, selon le rapport très précis du député britannique Eric Joyce, chef de la commission parlementaire britannique consacrée à l’Afrique centrale, un trou dans la caisse de plus de cinq milliards de dollars en à peine cinq ans, soit autant que le pillage organisé par Mobutu en 32 ans de règne sans partage !

Enfin, les électeurs congolais voient en Tshisekedi un leader charismatique, dont l’intransigeance certes inquiète parfois hommes politiques et diplomates occidentaux habitués à plus de déférence de la part de leurs interlocuteurs congolais, mais qui porte à son crédit le fait d’avoir mené une longue lutte pacifique et sans compromis pour l’émergence d’un Etat de droit au Congo, ce dont aucun autre homme politique congolais ne peut se prévaloir.

Face à cette situation explosive, la question de la position de l’Occident, et plus particulièrement de la Belgique, se pose avec acuité. Il est essentiel pour nos relations futures avec le Congo que la Belgique, elle aussi, réalise que l’époque a changé, et évite l’écueil dans lequel est tombée la France en Tunisie en ne voyant pas la révolution venir et en faisant perdurer un soutien à un régime autoritaire digne d’un autre âge. Rappelez-vous comment l’ambassade française en Tunisie avait ensuite été critiquée par Paris ! On assiste à une situation semblable au Congo, où les ambassadeurs occidentaux soutiennent Kabila face à un Tshisekedi qu’ils jugent imprévisible. Un jugement qui rappelle celui que l’Occident proférait envers le Premier ministre congolais Patrice Lumumba au moment de l’indépendance du Congo.
C’est pourtant en notre nom que les ambassadeurs agissent. Ce sont nos taxes qui leur permettent de mener sous les tropiques un mode de vie dispendieux. Nous avons droit à des explications sur leurs actions. Pourquoi apportent-ils un soutien tacite, sinon actif, au coup de force que prépare Kabila, comme on l’apprend de différentes sources à Kinshasa ? Au nom de quelles valeurs ? De quels intérêts ? Est-ce de nature à sécuriser les intérêts de la Belgique et la présence des ressortissants belges au Congo ? Je ne le crois pas. Au contraire ! Les temps ont changé et il est essentiel que la Belgique le comprenne sans tarder.

Il faut aussi que la Belgique mobilise ses alliés traditionnels au Conseil de sécurité des Nations unies : la France, la Grande-Bretagne et les Etats-Unis, et imprime une politique commune sur le Congo, comme elle l’a fait avec succès lors du tortueux processus politique qui a mené aux élections de 2006 au Congo. Il faut faire comprendre de toute urgence à Kabila que son coup de force et les massacres qui s’ensuivront immanquablement ne seront pas avalisés et qu’il est de son intérêt de sortir par la grande porte tant qu’il en est encore temps. Il a l’occasion d’entrer dans l’histoire comme le premier Président ayant permis l’alternance politique au Congo. Cela sera à son crédit et lui permettra peut-être de revenir aux affaires ultérieurement par la voie des urnes, comme on l’a déjà vu ailleurs en Afrique.

Lorsque le Congo a traversé des moments difficiles, la Belgique a souvent été en pointe. Il est important qu’il en soit ainsi en ce moment crucial et que notre ministre des Affaires étrangères agisse.

Il en va de l’avenir du Congo et de l’avenir de nos relations avec le pays africain le plus peuplé appelé, s’il est bien géré, à devenir un pôle de développement pour l’Afrique et d’expansion économique pour l’Europe.
African SurViVors International (AS International) is an international nonpartisan charity organization devoted to defending human rights. It’s an organization working to promote democracy and national reconciliation, inside countries of the African Great lakes Region.



AS International centers its work on the twin concepts of freedom of self-determination and freedom from tyranny. These ideals include the belief that all human beings have the rights to speak freely, to associate with those of like mind, and to leave and enter their countries. Individuals in a free society must be accorded equal treatment and due process under law, and must have the opportunity to participate in the governments of their countries;


AS International’s ideals likewise find expression in the conviction that all human beings have the right to be free from arbitrary detainment or exile and from interference and coercion in matters of conscience. ASI does not support nor condone violence.

• UDPS a donné une conférence de presse

Jacquemain Shabani, secretary general of the UDPS, gives press conference on the elections: